Chapter Text
Tony’s pov: “JARVIS, turn up the music, please.” I asked my AI as I kept working on the newest suit, the Mark 46, when instead of the music turning up, it turned off. I stopped working, confused. “Hey J, what’s the deal?” I ask, looking up finally, only to realize Pepper has been trying to get my attention. “Oh pep I didn’t see you there. What brings you down to my humble abode?” I ask with a big grin as I wipe the grease off my hands. Pepper gives me a dirty look as she walks over to where I'm standing. “You were supposed to be at the board meeting…” She looks at her Stark-pad and then back up at me. “Three hours ago.” I scratched the back of my neck still with the same grin. “Oh shoot, sorry, Pep, I guess I got distracted.” I have the decency to shrug before going right back to working on the suit; Pepper just rolls her eyes and walks out again. “Turn the music back on, J.” For the next few hours, as the music plays, I work on the new Mark 46 suit, getting lost in the work. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3rd person POV: While Tony is working on his suit and getting Pepper mad at him, Bucky, aka the Winter Soldier, is busy on his next mission when, as he goes to shoot his target, he freezes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Winter Soldier POV: As I go to pull the trigger, a hoard of memories flash through my mind, each memory causing my gun to lower each time. Once the memories slow down, it’s almost impossible to keep the black face, as with the memories come the feelings that should accompany them, the feelings that have been repressed for so long. The memory that keeps going, repeating over and over in my mind, is the one where I killed Howard, my old friend, and his sweet wife, leaving his son an orphan. I have to stop the bile from rising in my throat, but I succeed, and once I compose myself, I realize I need to get out of here and into hiding before the Hydra agents find me. I find an abandoned building coincidentally right down the street from Tony Stark's tower. I debate with myself how I should tell Tony because I know he probably thinks it’s an accident, and he deserves to know the truth. I think about a letter, and that seems like the safest option, so I sit down to write about first how sorry I am and that I know that doesn’t mean anything, then I go on to describe what I did, who I am, and what I was known for over the past 5 decades. Once I’m sure it’s good and has everything it needs, I place the letter in an envelope, and I get my gear on to make it easier to drop off at Stark Tower. When I’m done dropping the letter off, I linger a moment outside the building before leaving to head back to the abandoned building I’m staying in. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tony’s pov: “Sir, there appears to be a suspicious man lingering outside the tower.” I look up when the music cuts off only to stop my triad when I process what J said. “Pull up the cameras, J.” I instruct immediately as I wipe my hands off; when I look up, all the cameras are showing the indeed suspicious man. “Thanks, J, run facial recognition and a full body scan.” I ask as I zoom in on the man as he drops an envelope off and lingers a moment, then leaves. “I want that envelope...who the hell even uses snail mail anymore?” I mutter under my breath as I head downstairs to fetch the envelope, and when I get it, it does have my name on it, so I rush back upstairs to read it. “J lockdown mode while I read. I want some peace and quiet—no one in.” I say as I sit down on my couch, and I tear open the envelope, being careful not to rip the letter. I pull the letter out carefully and unfold it, reading the first line. I pause confused, but I keep reading. The more I read, the more in shock I go till I reach the end, and the letter just slips out of my hands, and I look off into space blankly. It takes about 20 minutes and Jarvis saying my name a few times for me to come out of my shock, and once I do, I pick up the letter, reread it, and then set it down. “J search all records classified, restricted—I don’t care. Search for the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes, and…my parents’ death.” I stare off into space again once I’m done giving tasks, just thinking about everything, about how I blamed my father for drinking and taking my mom. How someone could make an army hero do this, but most importantly, how this isn’t Bucky’s fault, it’s Hydra, and how they need to be stopped, and how Bucky needs to be helped. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~